Coral-C

Thanks for the extensive reply, David. Edinburgh is probably a little too far for me, but @Evolution13 has kindly given me a couple of pointers for recommended Skoda dealers closer to home. My nearest main dealership was adequate when buying a new car, but servicing and after-sales is far from good. Prices quoted randomly got VAT added afterwards, work was done and then needed to be re-done because their 'fix' did not address the actual problem, lack of communication, etc. And don't get me started on their salesman who told me with a completely straight face that he would sell a new L&K 4x4 with all options (i.e. around £55k list price) for well under £40k while we were negotiating a trade-in price 🤨 With my previous car, which I owned for 10 years from new, I gave up on the dealership after 5 years and had all servicing done by a local, non-affiliated, garage who were much better in every way. With the new car, however, I feel I should go back to an official dealership - at least in the early years - to maintain a full 'dealer' service history. The work won't be any better than my local garage would do, but fussy buyers will prefer to see it in the documentation when I come to sell. Hence my search for somewhere I can trust. Also, with the greater level of software in the Mk4 compared to my old Mk3, it probably needs more specialist attention anyway. Skoda seems to be progressively locking down the software systems so that non-approved technicians and owners cannot tinker with the cars. From this forum, I see that there are reports of more things to go wrong with the new models - although many of them seem to be teething problems with the very early Mk4 cars so (fingers-crossed) I may be unaffected. But again, it all points to needing to engage with an official dealer. BTW, I saw that you have the 19" Veritate wheels on Rosie. They look great, but they are a pain to clean because of the limited access behind the spokes and the strange design of the wheel barrel. Take a look at my posts in this forum for a possible solution if you intend to wash them yourself.

That's another option. Maud looks excellent, but Dundee is probably easier for public transport if I need to leave the car with them for any length of time.

That's not a million miles away 😀 I'll check them out. Thanks, @Evolution13

Hi Arianne Just picking up on a sidebar comment in one of your posts... you mentioned that your dealership is "a smaller, family and privately owned franchise as I wanted to avoid the big car dealership groups like Arnold Clark or Lloyd Group". I'm also in Scotland (Highlands rather than the Borders) and have to suffer with a national dealership that is, shall we say, "not excellent". Can you share who your dealer is? Best wishes for Rosie 2 - not long to wait now until you have somewhere to put that USB stick 😉. I recently moved to a 2025 L&K 4x4 and the drive is perfect for me. Rosie will be a joy for your long-haul trans-Europe journeys; Superbs are magnificent on the motorway. I wasn't sure about the massage seats on the L&K, but after a 600-mile-in-a-day run, I wouldn't want to be without them now. And I enjoy the understated power on the rare occasions when you need it: sub-6 seconds to 60mph leaves the boy racers open-jawed at the lights.

OccyVRS, Can I politely beg you to go for the option, please. I think rear wipers should be mandatory and not optional anyway. Yes, you only need it occasionally, but when you do need it you really do need it. I recently bought a nearly-new L&K. The original owner spent £50k+ on the car, but didn't add the £150 option! And now I miss the wiper every time it rains. I guess I could get one retro-fitted, but that would probably cost more than I spent on the whole car 😁 On reliability ... I had my last Superb for over 10 years and the rear wiper never failed me. The washer did stop for a little while, but my local garage cleared that up at no charge so it could not have been a significant problem.

"and the winner is" ... NascarMike's toothbrush suggestion. 👏 It's a 'soft cleaning' toothbrush with very gentle bristles, picked up for about £1 from my local supermarket. Warming the handle with a hairdryer or heat gun is enough to soften the plastic so that it can be bent around to the right shape. I needed to make left- and right-hand versions because there is not enough room to reach across behind the spokes from just one side... Just keep them away from your teeth after use I also picked up a 'turkey baster' to suck most of the water out of the gutter after rinsing the wheels. It's much more efficient that using microfibre towels alone.

I believe (please correct me if I'm wrong) that the steering wheel has sensors at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions. If you don't hold the wheel in those positions, it is more likely to warn you to 'take over steering control'. As usual, a tiny wiggle of the wheel is usually all that is needed to remind the car that you are in control.

Thanks, NascarMike. A toothbrush wouldn't normally fit into the space and go around the bend behind the spokes. But you started me thinking that maybe I could warm up the plastic handle to soften it, and then bend it to 90°. That might make a workable custom tool. I'll give it a try at the weekend and report back.

The Veritate wheels on my Superb have limited access between the spokes, so cleaning the barrel and behind the spokes is a chore but possible with the right selection of brushes and woolies. BUT ... the numbnuts that designed the wheel added a 'gutter' around the barrel just behind the spokes. It collects a pool of rainwater when parked and is a magnet for brake dust and tar. Getting into the gutter to clean it is almost impossible - I can't even reach it all with my fingertips and a wheel mitt. Lots of chemicals and a pressure rinse helps, but sometimes you also need to agitate the dirt to get it off. The usual angled wheel brushes and floss/weasels won't get into the gutter, so I'm faced with making some sort of DIY tool to get into the gaps or removing the wheel completely to get at it from behind. Does anyone have any tips or tool recommendations for how to tackle this?

The camera is easily confused. On my regular local route, there are school crossings with "20 when lights flash" signs. The car ALWAYS starts to chime to warn me that I am doing 30 in a 20 limit.